RICHMOND, Va. – The Benedict College Tigers fell to Virginia Union University 69-63 on Tuesday night.

Benedict falls to 2-3 overall, while Virginia Union University improves to 1-3.

Tajh Green led the way for the Tigers with 18 points and eight rebounds. Joseph Staton had 13 points and Deon Joyner added 11 points for the Tigers.

In the first half, the Panthers would go on a 26-10 run to give them an early lead. The Tigers would continue to fight and close the gap. In the final nine minutes of the first half, Benedict outscored Virginia Union 18-10 to close the gap to eight, 36-28, heading into halftime.

The Tigers would outscore the Panthers by eight points in the first 10 minutes of the second half to tie the game at 46. A free throw by Green with 6:09 left on the clock would give Benedict their first lead of the half, 55-54.

The Tigers would continue their run by extending their lead by as much as six, 60-54, off a layup from Staton with 4:55 left. The Panthers would fight back and defeat the Tigers 15-3 in the final five minutes of the game. Benedict had a 63-62 lead with 45 seconds left, but the Panthers took the lead for good on a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left.

Virginia Union's bench outscored Benedict's bench 46-30. The Panthers also outscored the Tigers 28-17 off turnovers.

Benedict will host Limestone College on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the HRC Arena.